Idiot code: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 08:05, 27 January 2008

Revision as of 08:18, 27 January 2008

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An '''idiot code''' is a [[code]] whereupon the "[[syntax]]" or "rules" of [[communication]] are worked out between the parties.

== Example ==

Any sentence where 'day' and 'night' are used means 'attack'. The ___location mentioned in the following sentence specifies the ___location to be attacked.

Message: We walked day and night through the streets but couldn't find it! Tomorrow we'll head on to Rome.

== De-coding ==

There are only two ways to break this code:

# Know what the rules are.

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The problem with number 2 is that you would need several verified messages of this type to determine the rules of communication.

== Disadvantages ==

The drawbacks of this type of message passing is that is it extremely limited. A [[codebook]] would be needed to effectively communicate complex information. Simple information such as "yes" or "no" can be built into phrases and have several variants. However, complex information such as "Meet a man with red hair under the Bass Bridge at 12:43 and be sure to wear a black cloak and a fedora so he recognises you" would be much harder unless you have constructed your rules to allow for this type of information to be passed.

This type of communication is akin to the hand signals used by armies in the field.

== Origin ==

An early use of the term appears to be by George Perrault, a character in the science fiction book ''Friday''<ref>[http://booksmembers.googleaol.com/books?id=l0SKr54JrpgC&q=idiot-code&dq=idiot-code&ei=T8GaR4OwHoOotgPdlKScCg&pgis=1siure/heinlein3.htm ''Friday''] (1982) by [[Robert Heinlein]]: page 163.</ref> by [[Robert Heinlein]]:

::The simplest sort [of code] and thereby impossible to break. The first ad told the person or persons concerned to carry out number seven or expect number seven or it said something about something designated as seven. This one says the same with respect to code item number ten. But the meaning of the numbers cannot be deduced through statistical analysis because the code can be changed long before a useful statistical universe can be reached. It's an idiot code... and an idiot code can never be broken if the user has the good sense not to go too often to the well.<ref>The Web: [http://www.asherblack.com/quotations.html Quotations] - Asher Black</ref>

{{quote|It's an idiot code, Friday, and an idiot code can never be broken if the user has the good sense not to go too often to the well.}}

== Modern Usage ==

Richard Miniter, author of ''Losing Bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror'', was quotedstates in an interview by UPI Technology News<ref>UPI Technology News: [http://archive.infopeace.de/msg02819.html “Terrorists prove elusive” by Gene J. Koprowski], [[23 October]] [[2003]].</ref>:

:Another way terrorists use the Internet to communicate is through conventional message boards. They simply go to common public places online, chat rooms and the like, and post messages using what intelligence operatives call an “idiot code”, said Miniter.

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Terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp said that the men who carried out the [[11 September]] [[2001]] attacks on the United States used basic e-mail and what he calls “idiot code” to discuss their plans.<ref>Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty: [http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/06/a3d6bec4-ace3-4592-a271-f3f9b9c912cd.html “Middle East: Islamic Militants Take Jihad To The Internet” By Jeffrey Donovan], [[16 June]] [[2004]].</ref>

== References ==

<references/>

== See also ==

*[[List of coding terms]]